Mitexi

NSW

That's depressing about how long it's taking for the NVC to receive our petitions. )= I thought the long wait from USCIS was over after NOA2, but I guess not. They're still dragging it out for up to 30 days... Uhhhhhhhhgggggg

Lol I called today after one week (I thought I might get lucky or something =P) and they wouldn't even CHECK if they got it or not. "Call back in 15 days"

Okay, so my fiance finally got to get the police check done when there weren't any people in custody. But now he's worried about the options that were selected on the fingerprint machine.

"There were a bunch of options about why the prints were being taken, and the police officer didn't know which one to choose. She picked "other" but I'm pretty sure it just covered "other crimes" because it was asking for information like "Offender Name". And at the bottom there was a drop down list that again was asking a reason, and listed things like "Animal Cruelty". You could pick "Other" again there, but it had a box for the reason, and the box had limited characters, so she could only fit in "criminal history" instead of "criminal history check" or something like that. But now I don't want my prints sitting on the computer, listed under some sort of offence. =/"

Does anyone remember what options you picked at the fingerprint machine so that he doesn't continue worrying about this? He says there were options for things that didn't involve crimes, but there was no option that specifically said "Criminal Record Check" so the officer just kept pressing "Other".

Got my Green Card today!

So happy.

Congratulations! ^^

In my own visa news, my fiance is having a hard time getting the police check. =/ For the past two days now they have had someone in custody EVERY time he calls, all day long. They tell him to call back in a few hours, so he does, and they either still have the same person or a new one. I don't know if it's just a bad area or what, but this isn't going well. How is he supposed to get the fingerprints if someone is always in custody? )=

Ohio? I think that's where my Husband's Aunt and cousin live, can't remember exactly where though. Ooooo, wolves, didn't think of those! I ant to see a skunk too, and a road runner. I never even knew that road runners are a real animal until my husband mentioned seeing one one day, lol.

Haven't been around snow yet, we're presently stuck in disgusting Arizona, it's hotter than hell here, even winter is hot :/ Buttt, we have plans to move to Seattle in the next few months so hopefully they'll get a decent amount of snow this year, i'm soooo excited!!!!

Ohio, yep. I'm out in a farmland/cornfield/woodsy type area. Seattle would be awesome! Washington is one of the states we're thinking about moving to, too. I want ocean, he wants woods/cold, and Washington has nice coastal forest areas, so it's a happy medium. =P Not to mention all the cool lighthouses! Oregon or Maine would be nice too for what we want.

You want to see...a skunk...? x_x Are you sure, lol? I smell them way too often around here. They get hit on the road, and then the entire area stinks for ages. Not to mention when the dogs get sprayed... Bleh! >_< I did see a lady who owned pet "de-scented" skunks though. That was interesting.

Visa News: He tried to get the police check yesterday but they had someone in custody. I guess he'll have to try again today... Any idea when I should start calling the NVC to see if they got my petition? It will be a week on Friday. Maybe call Monday?

Sounds simple enough. Thank you!

I know what you mean. When I'm there, I'm always so amazed to see flocks of cockatoos waddling around. I can never get over how big (and loud) they are. It really makes me realize I'm on the other side of the world. As for squirrels, my husband was fascinated by them when he was here. He was really excited when I told him how I had twin newborn fawns come wobbling up to me in my yard the other day. For him it's exotic wildlife, for me it's just another day in the country. But then, I nearly drove him nuts hoping to see wild kangaroos when I was there last.

In visa news, he received his police certificate today! We were shocked that it came so quickly. I hope everyone else gets theirs just as quickly.

Ah, the cockatoos. That was definitely awesome as well to see those just flying around wild. I did get to see one wild kangaroo/wallaby last time I was there. ^^ Couldn't tell which exactly because it went across the road so fast. It was kind of strange though to be somewhere that doesn't have a large variety of mammals running around everywhere. Seems most of their stuff is birds or more active at night/hard to find. I'm used to seeing more wildlife on a daily basis, lol (I'm out in the country like you are). However, it's nice to see my fiance get so excited about things I usually take for granted here or don't normally notice much. It's kind of like getting a whole new outlook on life every once in a while. =) I took a year of Wildlife Management at college, so I'm happy to help identify anything he points out from animals to insects to plants. Even random bones he might drag in from the woods, lol.

Congrats on getting the police certificate so fast! One less thing to worry about. I told him to get his started today, so we'll see how quick it gets processed. Maybe we'll get lucky too.

I saw my first squirrel a few weeks ago and i totally freaked out, i was so excited, lol. Now i want to see a bear, lol.

xD I haven't even seen one of those. At least not in the wild. I know there's some around here though. Not sure about this exact area, but definitely the state. Plenty of squirrels everywhere though to keep Mr. Aussie happy, haha! His favorite is wolves, but...those aren't anywhere near here. )=

Have you been around much snow yet? We had some bad storms while he was here last time and I swear he would move us to Alaska to live in an igloo if I let him. =P

So, I just noticed that my mom's (co-sponsor) annual income numbers are different on her taxes vs her paystubs/employment letter. She gets health care taken right out of her work pay through her employer, so the taxes are saying the income is lower than what the paystubs and employment letter are saying her real salary is.

For question #7. "I derive an annual income of:" should I put the number the taxes say, or the higher number that the paystubs/employment letter say that she really makes before the health care? Both numbers are still above the poverty requirements, so that's not an issue. I just need to know which number I'm supposed to go with...

If I go with the tax number, will it matter that the paystubs/employment letter report a higher number and thus don't match?

Welcome! what about his medical? What state is he from? Some docs will let you book without a case number. Some won't but it's good to check. Maybe even to see how long the waiting time is.

How has he gone getting all the pics he'll need? Have you seen the P3 link here?: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/fiance_niv_appl.html That's the link he'll be emailed for P3 so he can get started on the forms to mail it back asap to get P4 and INTERVIEW :D

He's in NSW, about an hour from Sydney. And do you mean the passport photos? He got extra made when he did the one for the I-129F packet. I had noticed ahead of time that he would need more for future steps.

For P3 I had showed him the info on the consulate page here at VJ and what forms he would be filling out, but I'm not sure if he went to that actual site/page yet. I'll link him to it directly now. Thank you. =)

Squirrels are amazing! lol.

Congratulations on your NOA2!!!

Thanks. ^^ And lol! I'll have to tell him that someone else shares his enthusiasm for squirrels. =P

Hi there! I love your avatar--kookaburras are awesome. We had a kookaburra caketopper on our wedding cake. Love them.

Thanks! ^^ My fiance took that photo at his sister's house. There were kookaburras just chilling on the patio area with everyone. I think one of my favorite things about Australia was waking up to the kookaburras. They just sound so exotic and amazing. =) Of course, my fiance thinks that squirrels are some amazing thing here, so I guess it's all relative.

I had the very same frustration with my husband--he put off that darn police certificate. I finally just told him that every day he put it off was one more day he'd be waiting for his visa. Maybe that worked, as he finally did get it sent out. He's in Canberra and I believe he was told it would take 4 to 6 weeks, so I'm guessing it will set us back a week or two. I hope your fiance gets his soon.

Now that we finally have NOA2, I think he'll start getting things together. I don't want to push about it too much and make him irritated, but I'm getting really anxious now to get stuff moving. ^^;

It sounds like we're at a similar place in the process. I just found out that our file made it to the NVC, and I'm also thinking I will call in a week or so to ask about the case number.

Nice to meet you, and best of luck to you!

Good luck to you as well! I'll probably be checking back here often for advice and questions, so I'll likely see you around some more. =) Hopefully we can get the visas without too much extra trouble.

Congratulations! My fiance looked into this a few years ago. It's really neat to see someone who was actually selected. =)

I'll echo everyone else wondering what your plans are. I guess it would be kind of hard to even HAVE plans because you never know when or if you will even win the lottery...

Just got my NOA2 last night, so I'll be heading into the Aussie side of things now. =P I've read up on the police check thread and have been urging him to go get it done for the past few weeks since it seems to take a while. I don't think he has yet, but he's been busy helping his mum move house. I think we'll try that online version that was last posted.

I just have to wait for the NOA2 hardcopy to come now. I've got the tax transcripts, paystubs, and I-134's for both myself and co-sponsor. I still need to get the employment letters signed (was waiting for NOA2) and then I should be good. I'll give it a good week or so before I start calling the NVC for the case number. I'm just excited to FINALLY be moving on with this process!

Mitexi,

That is unfortunate, hope yours NOA2 come soon. I looked up the average processing time, it is around 151 days. But could be as high as 200 days. I think I will just make a few trips during the waiting period.

I actually got my NOA2 last night after I posted here. But as Harpa Timsah says, there's still a lot more waiting/steps to come now. It just feels good to finally be able to move past THIS part. ^^;

You might get lucky and go faster, or you might get unlucky and take longer. The best thing is to prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised if it ends up sooner than you expected. I went into this process knowing it would likely be 7 to 8 months (or more) from start to finish. If he gets the visa before that, then hooray! If it takes a little longer, then it won't surprise me. I'm not gonna lie, the wait is torture. But after that first month or so, you kinda fall into the rhythm of it and it gets a little easier. Just hang in there and try not to hope for numbers/times/approvals that are sooner than the average. Best case scenario you make the average, worst case you go a bit over it. Getting some miraculous 3 month approval is like winning the lottery. Sure it might be POSSIBLE, but would you base your future around winning the lottery?

Just got the NOA2 text at 1 AM tonight! =D Long wait for approval (170 days), but it's finally over! At least, this specific wait is over. More waiting to come. BUT, at least I can finally move forward now and make some progress!

I hope anyone else from December whose still waiting gets their NOA2 soon! It's so horrible to be stuck in that 5 month limbo, especially when it's gone beyond the 5 months. >_<

I noticed the last time you updated your timeline was 2011. I hope and wish that you are at least past NOA2 at this point.

Sadly, no. My timeline is correct. I am still waiting for NOA2. )= This is why you should not form any expectations at this point. You're bound to be disappointed.

Really. You are being very unrealistic. Your fiance will not be in the US in 4 months. I'll bet the farm on that.

I think they may have meant 4 months for just this step of the journey, not 4 months from start to finish. ^^; Still probably going to be disappointed though.

In regards to a well put together package, I have seen people say they got RFE's for documents and evidence they already included in their petition, so having everything put together well is no guarantee that USCIS won't lose something themselves...

does anyone know what application dates US Customs is processing? are they still on December Applications?? or have they moved to January applications?

I'm guessing you mean what dates the service centers are processing? I just called today and they told me CSC is currently on "Dec. 16th" petitions. However, it's hard to tell if that's accurate because I've seen different people get told different dates when they call. And there's obviously January petitions being approved if you check out the Immigration Timelines page that A&B linked.

How is it.....say.....that a 12/1 petition gets processed around the same time as a 1/31 petition.

I wish I knew. =/ And I also wish I knew where these call center people are pulling their dates from. I just called and they told me that CSC is currently processing "Dec. 16th" petitions. Also, why does my NOA1 hardcopy say Dec. 15th, but the USCIS site and the call center say they got it on the 13th? Should that be my NOA1, then? x_x I just give up trying to understand how anything works in these places. I'll just be happy if they didn't completely LOSE my petition altogether (which they assured me today was not the case).

The call center said I was only "3 days over" the normal processing time. So apparently they're telling me they go by whatever date they are currently working on as opposed to a simple "it's been over 5 months"...? =/ I mean, that makes me feel a little better that maybe I'm still on track, but... Uuhhhhhgg nothing is ever the same answer or makes seeense! D=

Congrats! ^^ Wow, you sure had a long wait! Did you have to call someone to finally get it moving?

I'm past 5 months and still waiting. =/

guys is it applicable to call uscis it's been 4 mos and 2weeks.. we're still waiting for our noa2..

do I have to say to my fiance to call uscis?? guys pls advice.. thanks!

I don't think anything can be done until you've hit 5 months. I'm beyond that and still trying to be patient. I've been told by other members that even up to 6 months is still within average processing time.

*sigh* This is so frustrating. )= I could have been 2 weeks into the NVC and possibly packet 3 stage by now. Trying to be patient, but I just keep seeing other December people and how far they are even though they submitted petitions after me, and it's depressing, you know? I mean, I'm happy for everyone, but I'd like my turn now too. ^^; NOA2, where ARE you?

Maybe this week will be the week...

2 years since you sent the second petition, or 2 years combined time since the first petition and moving? When did you send the second k-1?

I feel your pain, but I'm just trying to wait patiently. Reading from others, it seems putting in a service request does nothing except for them to tell you to wait 60 more days. =/ I have no idea about Senators though. I really don't want to mess with all that unless the time frame is getting ridiculous. I'm over 5 months now and will probably try to stay calm until it gets around the 6 month mark. Hopefully it doesn't get that far, but you never know. >_< I would say just try to be patient for now.